1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to printing press accessories and more particularly to apparatus for cutting and dividing a continuous stream of printed products which are transported over a longitudinal folding system for a printed paper sheet and a subsequent pair of cutting cylinders to shear the paper sheet to the format length and then divide the cut sheets into two separate paper paths.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An apparatus of the prior art for cutting and dividing a continuous sheet stream, U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,713, entitled "Diverter Mechanism", uses its own cutting cylinder pair to cut the printed paper sheet into individual products. Then there is a complex system of conveyor belts, exhibiting a roll pair with cams, which divide the incoming printed products by means of a blade so that the printed products alternately take one of two transport routes. A great deal of space is necessary for the utilization of this system. Further, its complex technical design results in high costs.
Another method of the prior art for dividing the product stream, U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,552, entitled "Sheet Diverting System", requires, in addition to the cutting cylinder pair, an additional cylinder pair in which there are controlled gripping devices to alternately divert the individual printed products to one side or the other, from where they are delivered via other belt lines and fan or spider wheels. This method, too, is very complex and expensive, particularly as a result of the two gripper cylinders which are necessary to divide the product stream. Each of the above-mentioned patents are incorporated by reference as if the entire contents thereof were fully set forth herein.